Laboratory work sits between clinical practice and technology. Decisions made in each area shape how work actually gets done. When these decisions are aligned, work flows more easily. When they are not, small frictions start to appear.
Separate decisions, shared consequences
Each domain focuses on different things. Laboratory work prioritises accuracy, clinicians focus on interpretation and timing, and technology teams focus on systems and stability. Issues tend to appear when these perspectives are not considered together.
- A laboratory workflow is adjusted to manage capacity.
- A clinical expectation changes without full visibility into laboratory constraints.
- A technical solution is implemented to improve structure or compliance.
None of these choices are wrong on their own. Friction appears when they are not considered together.
Where misalignment shows up
Misalignment is not always immediately visible. Instead, it shows up through extra steps in workflows, work moving outside established systems and informal communication gradually replacing formal processes. Often, these adjustments are made quietly to keep things running. Over time, they become normalised. What began as a local workaround often becomes something the system depends on.
When systems stop reflecting practice
Technology is often expected to bridge gaps between domains. But systems reflect the assumptions they were built on. When laboratory practice evolves, clinical needs shift or organisational priorities change, systems do not automatically follow. Unless they are actively revisited, they reflect outdated assumptions about how work is done. Work continues, but increasingly around the system rather than through it.
This is rarely a technical problem. It is a coordination problem.
Alignment requires maintenance
Alignment between laboratory, clinical and technology domains is not something achieved once. It requires ongoing attention. Not in the form of large programmes or new platforms, but through regular dialogue and shared understanding of how work is actually carried out.
When domains stay connected, adjustments are smaller and easier to absorb. When they drift apart, complexity accumulates quietly.
Keeping the system whole
Laboratories function best when clinical expectations, laboratory practice and technology evolve together. Not perfectly aligned, but aware of one another. Because when these domains drift too far apart, the system does not break. It continues to operate, just with more effort, more workarounds and less resilience than it needs.
